Colombian police capture pigeon carrying drugs to prison

A carrier pigeon that was being used to smuggle drugs into a Colombian prison has been captured by police.

The bird was flying towards a jail in the north-eastern city of Bucaramanga when it was discovered nearby by officers with a bag strapped to its back.

Police recovered 40g of marijuana and 5g of a paste containing cocaine and believe the package was too heavy for the bird to clear the prison walls.

"We found the bird about a block away from the prison trying to fly over with a package, but due to the excess weight it could not accomplish its mission," said Jose Angel Mendoza, the local police commander.

"This is a new case of criminal ingenuity."

Carrier pigeons trained by inmates or accomplices have previously been use to smuggle mobile phone Sim cards into the same jail, according to police.

In September last year police in the Colombian city of Barranquilla captured a parrot they said had been trained to act as a lookout for drug dealers – by squawking 'run' when police approached.

The pigeon found in Bucaramanga is now being cared for by the local ecological police unit.